Make Up For Ever

I call this terrific tiny taupe my “Speed Racer shadow,” because it dries f-a-s-t, and because I can never remember what it’s actually called, haha.

But seriously, it’s Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Color Paint Shadow in L-54, a $25 cream shadow (0.16-oz tube) in MUFE’s .

In a nutshell, I it, despite the fact that it dries very quickly, which I normally wouldn’t be into because I like having time to play and blend and move stuff around, but it depends on my mood. Lately I’ve been into doing super fast eye makeup, which these are great for.

I dunno, it’s weird… I feel like I finally found my calling, like THIS was the reason I was put on this earth, to figure out every available path to putting on makeup in 10 or 15 minutes, and then spilling the beans about it.

Anyway, random tangent, LOL! What was I saying again…?

I love how L-54 closely hugs my skin and doesn’t look like it’s just sitting right on top of it.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Oh, yeah, Speed Racer, a.k.a L-54, dries extremely quickly, but there’s something about that luster, which is sort of halfway between a shimmer and a matte, that still gives you enough time to move it around and blend it without any brouhaha, even though in real time it sets in less than a minute. Literally, 60 seconds is all you get before it sets, but you don’t need more time than that, because this thing is genius.

It’s hot today in the North Bay (or, as we say in the Bay Area, it’s “HELLA hot here right now”). It’s a heat wave.

Weirdly, it’s been way hotter here in Novato than it was in Hawaii last week.

Super hot and super sweaty. Currently, my house is like an armpit, so baby and I are going to escape to air-conditioned pastures in a bit, but before we go, let’s talk makeup setting sprays…

When it’s hot like this, they’re a must for me, and here are a few I love.

The best all-rounder. You can probably guess that this one’s my fave because — look, there’s only a teeny bit left in the bottle! 🙂 It doesn’t matter what type of finish I’m wearing (matte, dewy, glittery, shimmery, whatever!), it holds on to everything and keeps it in place.

I can sweat like crazy — even rub at my eyes or touch my face — and it keeps whatever I’m wearing from melting off or disappearing.

Note to self: restock this soon,
as in almost immediately

Also, I think Mist & Fix is the best spray for applying shimmer eyeshadows, glitter shadows and/or loose pigments with a wet brush because it’s almost like a lightweight liquid glue. It doesn’t leave your lids or your face feeling tacky or anything like that, and yet somehow binds those shimmery or glittery particles to the skin.

The best for dewy skin looks, and you know I’m all about that dewy skin. 🙂 I think Chill is the best spray for that type of look.

It’s weird, but there’s a very fine line between dewy skin and skin that looks oily, right? A little shine is good — great, even! — but too much shine starts to look greasy. Chill walks that line without crossing it, and it feels fab, too. There’s a slight cooling sensation, so when you spray it on a hot day, ah… It’s so refreshing.

Just Chill, babe

Did I mention that it creates the finest mist ever? The droplets are finer than those of the other the sprays I use, and it’s a wide mist. A single spritz covers a lot of area.

The best for keeping shine in check. I use this spray when I do matte looks or when my combo skin is oilier than usual. It has what Shiseido calls an “Anti-Shine Complex” to keep greasy spots in check, and dang if doesn’t werk! When I use this, I feel like my skin looks like it did in the ’90s (from what I remember, haha) — uber-matte, with no shine whatsoever.

Kindasorta obsessed with purple at the moment. Here’s an assortment of old faves (and a new one!) from the top: MAC Eye Kohl in Prunella ($17), Urban Decay Glide on Eye Pencil in Vice ($20), ($14), Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eye Pencil in 1-90 ($21) and MAC Pearlglide Intense in Designer Purple ($17)

It’s both wonderful and terrifying to live so close to a Sephora, because when I get on a makeup whim, I can just hop in my car, and BAM! Five minutes later I’ve got every purple liner in the store swatched on the back of my hand.

Yeah, I’m going through a purple liner phase right meow, big time (in case you haven’t noticed, LOL!). I love the look of a warm brown lid with purple liner on the lash lines. I’ve just been into it lately! Please be patient with me as I work my way through it…

Anyways, Connor convinced me to go to Sephora last Friday (yes, it was all the baby’s doing), so we went looking for a new purple to add to my collection. This latest love is a shade called .

Holy, mackerel! I’m amazed (and sometimes intimidated, to be honest) by how complicated some YouTube makeup tutorials are, even when it comes to foundation and under-eye concealer.

Sometimes I don’t mind following a lot of steps, but it depends on whether I’m just having fun, or whether I’m watching the clock. When it comes to my basic face makeup aesthetic, though, which is effortless (looking) and natural, I don’t necessarily think that your face makeup routine needs to be complicated.

You can get fresh-looking skin in a flash with three products — a sheer foundation (or a BB cream, CC cream or tinted moisturizer), a full-coverage concealer and a face powder. You can even out your skin tone, keep the coverage looking light, and it doesn’t have to take forever.

Step 1: Prep

Start by applying moisturizer and/or primer to your skin to prep it and smooth your canvas for foundation.

Or…you can skip this step and just make funny faces ? in the mirror. Totally up to you. Your foundation might not look quite as smooth, but it’ll still look fine.

Put one or two pumps of your favorite sheer foundation (or BB cream, CC cream or tinted moisturizer) on the back of your hand, then add one or two dots of full-coverage concealer, and mix them all together with a finger.

Adding the full-coverage concealer dots boosts the coverage of your sheer foundation to even out your skin a bit more, and it also saves you from having to apply and blend concealer on top of your foundation.

Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Concealer in Y41 and MAC Next to Nothing Foundation in Medium Plus

Do these jars of Make Up For Ever Star Lit Powder look like something from Ursa Major?

LOL! Seriously, these things are shiny, man! If it was just you on a boat and these Star Lit Powders, you could navigate your way back to land.

SO SHINY.

100% Instagram-friendly highlighter

If there were an official OTT Instagram-friendly highlighter, this would be it. Each of the eight $21 shades has 0.09 ounces of loose, shimmery powder that you can wear wet or dry on your eyes, lips or cheeks.

Make Up Forever Star Lit Powder swatches from the left in 19, 15, 13 and 02

INTENSE pearl

The shimmer is less like a glitter and more like an intense pearl. As highlighters, these are a little too bada-bing-bada-bang for me, but I like them as lid colors, because when you get them right up next to a satin or a matte in the crease, the high-shine POPS! — and if you have hooded, or slightly hooded, lids like I do, it makes your crease look deeper, like it’s comin’ right atcha.